Forum Topics

Wine Merchants

Apart from the Supermarkets and Majestic are there any decent wine merchants in the area?

Philip Coe ● 5767d5 Comments ● 5766d

New book launch: Who was Jack the Stripper?

My second True Crime Story: Who was Jack the Stripper? will be launched at Abertillery Library sometime in March/April 2011. The book launch will coincide with a 1 hour drama/documentary to be aired throughout Britain and Europe focusing on Harold Jones, the killer of 2 school children in Abertillery, South Wales in 1921. (Google Harold Jones - The Welsh Killer, or Neil Milkins, or Jack the Stripper.)The documentary will be presented by television presenter and Kray Twins biographer Fred Dineage MBE and top British criminologist and criminal profiler Professor David Wilson. Jones was 15 when he murdered 8 year-old Freda Elsie Maud Burnell and 11 year-old Florence Irene Little in 1921. Jones was released from prison in 1941 having served 20 years for his crimes and owing to the turmoil of World War 11 he went off the police radar. During the times of the unsolved murders of 8 women in the Hammersmith district of London between 1959 and 1965, Jones lived in the Hammersmith district using various aliases. (He lived in Fulham, Putney and Hammersmith between 1947 and 1971 when he died.) Who was Jack the Stripper? examines the amazing links between Jones and the murdered women!Professor Bernard Knight who recovered and conducted the post mortems on all of Fred and Rosemary West's murder victims and "Taggart" creator Glenn Chandler have both read the manuscript for Who was Jack the Stripper? and have made positive comments on the amazing and startling coincidences linking Jones to the Hammersmith murders.Who was Jack the Stripper? is a follow up to Neil Milkins' top selling 2008 book: Every Mother's Nightmare - Abertillery in Mourning, which dealt in depth with the Harold Jones murders of Freda Burnell and Florence Little.Who was Jack the Stripper? will be distributed by:Neil Milkins, Rose Heyworth Press, 67 Arael View, Abertillery, Gwent NP13 1SU. Tel: 01495213744. n.milkin@sky.comemails and feedback welcomed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Forum Home

neil milkins ● 5766d0 Comments ● 5766d

Nurseries in Northfields / West Ealing

Hi, does anyone know of any good nurseries in northfields/west ealing which take children who are one? I've been told that a lot of them have long waiting lists.  We've been to happy child and little angels, does anyone have any experience of these nurseries? Help would be much appreciated!

sharon dhillon ● 5771d3 Comments ● 5769d

£3,000 Overcoat

Re the story on the front page, I just wondered how an overcoat could cost £3,000.

David Archer ● 5771d6 Comments ● 5769d

Headline: "Late Night Dispute in Arcadia Centre Over Trapped Coat "

Must have been a really slow news day.

Mark Walker ● 5770d0 Comments ● 5770d

More Redundancies?

Many of us worked very hard to produce submissions to the Local Development Framework (LDF)consultation. The final LDF would shape the future of planning in the borough for the next 15 years. We sweated to meet the deadline for responses (30 Nov 2010). After all this effort to be "good citizens" silence, silence, silence. Have the press office been sacked? They should have heralded this round of consultation as a great success. After all there is always a shortage of good news. The last round was a grand failure (60 responses). Chelmsford with around a third of the population of Ealing, guess, 4000 responses.Conversely perhaps the LDF team were sacked and so the press dept haven't any data to trumpet? Anyone able to throw some light on this?  

Arthur Breens ● 5775d5 Comments ● 5770d

Playground in Walpole Park - what are the council doing ?

The playground in Walpole Park has been getting poorer and poorer over the last couple of years and now it seems that the council has prioritised parks in other areas rather than in their flagship Park and the funding for doing up playgrounds has run out. What kind of prioritisation exercise leaves the most popular park with the worst faclilities ?The playground gets more pathetic with each passing month - About 18 months ago the council took away the slide (for repair they said) but it never came back and then a couple of months ago they took away the roundabout - leaving a big empty space. I know that the Borough has some great playgrounds - Pitshanger Park and Horsenden Hill spring to mind but I can't understand why the Council has let the one in Walpole Park degenerate so badly

Matt Prior ● 5783d8 Comments ● 5770d

Northala Fields  - New cafe

Does anyone know the opening times of the new Northala Fields Cafe/Visitor Centre?

Jim Wong ● 5772d2 Comments ● 5771d

Parking in Ealing

The story on the front page mentions big hikes in residents' permits and a doubling of pay-and-display charges, but nothing about the multi-storey car park. Anyone know if any changes are planned there?A rise from the present £1 per hour might well have a deleterious effect on the shops in the precinct.

Susan Kelly ● 5777d11 Comments ● 5772d

Ealing's Park Rangers

The really big news from yesterday is that all 20 Ealing Park Rangers who look after over 100 open spaces across the borough, which include the extensive Brent River Park and Horsenden Hill, have lost their jobs. There are now 4  posts, (yes 4 - which has to cover long shifts in the summer and weekends) at an even lower wage and which they have to re-apply for. Goodbye Queen of the Suburbs.

Jane Salisbury ● 5827d91 Comments ● 5772d

Food & Drink Section of the Directory  -  suggested Updates

To the Editor:I've just been looking in the Food & Drink section of the Directory for some new ideas about where to dine out in Ealing and I fear many of the entries there may now be a bit out of date based on my own limited knowledge of the town centre. In the event that you might wish to bring this section up to date and make it more useful to your readership(and if it's not too impertinent!) here are the ones I'd suggest require updating or outright deletion. RestaurantsMy Old Dutch  -  closed down. Now called Crystal.Bella Italia  -  closed down, became Fogo, then closed again.Ealing Cottage.  Closed down.  Now called Molana.Coriander Leaf  -  closed downL'Amico Pizzeria  -  closed down.  Now called Abidan.Abba's  -  closed down.Chisimath Restaurant  -  closed down.  Now called Gospoda VitaPubsAll Bar One.  Closed down.  Now Halifax Building SocietyThe Spinning Wheel  -  closed down.  Soon to be a Sainsbury'sPark View  -  closed downThe Three Wishes  -  closed down. Reopened as Black GeorgeFinnegan's Wake  -  closed down. Reopened as The GroveThe Velvet Lounge  -  closed downThe Green  -  closed down.  Reopened as Cote.Ha Ha Bar & Canteen  -  closed down.  Reopened as FlavasThe Walsingham Arms  -  closed down.  Reopened as FlynnsDuffys  -  now called the Village InnSlug & Lettuce  -  now called the Sir Michael Balcon, an existing entry in the Directory.  Delete this entry.

Dominic Moore ● 5773d4 Comments ● 5772d

Choir

Does anyone know a choir in West London?  I'm looking for one where you don't have to audition, good variety of music and which is welcoming to new members.

Mike Morris ● 5773d2 Comments ● 5773d

HEALING IN CHISWICK

Another year!  Our first session for 2011 will take place at the London Buddhist Vihara, The Avenue, W4 1UD between 11am and 1pm and we look forward to seeing anyone who would like some healing, either just for an energy boost, stress or a physical illness.Although the centre takes place in the Buddhist Temple the healing is NOT related to any religion, it is totally non-denominational everyone is welcome.No charge is made for healing however a donation is most welcome - all donations are given to the Vihara for the use of the hall.No appointments are necessary.  For any further information please give me a ring on 0788 189 6449.

Pat Smith ● 5774d5 Comments ● 5773d

Julian Bell Warns of Further Cuts to Come

One can but wonder which world our esteemed Council Leader lives in? Frontline services are being cut left, right and centre while the Ealing Skateboard project goes on. Surely the lives that are helped and saved by saving just one care assistant job are worth more than a skateboard park? When will Ealing's politicians realise that people are MORE important than vanity projects and vanity services?

Jeff Belsen ● 5798d31 Comments ● 5775d

St Helena's Home 51 Drayton Green - likely to be demolished

From our news section.'110 year old site in West Ealing to be redevelopedFrom the WEN websitePreparation work has begun to demolish a historic building in Drayton Green.However objections have been raised about the plans by Notting Hill Housing Trust (NHHT) to build 30 flats and 6 town houses on the site which occupies almost an acre.St Helena's Home was built in 1896-7 and was run as a women's reformatory by nuns until 1940. It then became a girls' remand centre until 1965. The Chinese Government took over the place until NHHT bought the site for some £3.5 milliion a few years ago.West Ealing Neighbours (WEN) Ealing Civic Society and a number of residents have written to the council objecting to the building being bulldozed.The Council's web site is now showing the words 'Objection Raised' alongside the word 'Decision' in the Planning Application details (PP/2010/1733).WEN and Ealing Civic Society had tried to get English Heritage to list the building and protect it but weren't successful.However the original St Helena's Chapel Chapel now at 53 Drayton Green and owned by the International Presbyterian Church was listed earlier this year.The Chapel was designed by John Ninian Comper and was built in 1912-3' 65-79 it was a convent until IPC bought it. NHHT was offered the big block which IPC could not afford to keep but they did not proceed with alacrity and the Chinese communists bought it. AFAIK it was then unique, a communist embassy with a cross in the front.EH have indeed listed IPC's chapel, something I as a trustee wished the church to contest as I do not believe we were given statutory notice of intent by EH which gives one the time one need s to........So folks please object IPC will be submitting its own proposals for its share of the site but we are hindered by a listed building now.

Graham Weeks ● 5972d12 Comments ● 5776d

Telco Xmas tree...next the eggs

ive just realised that for the second year Tesco Hoover building hasn't bothered to have the usual traditional 20ft tree outside the store. Poor things, times must be hard. Even the tree inside the store by the customer service desk had gone by Boxing Day. Guess it had served it's purpose...the Easter eggs will be on display soon. NO wonder the year spins round so fast!

David Archer ● 5780d6 Comments ● 5777d

Ealing library free download service

When I was a 10 year old, I loved my local library. I spent many a happy hour there discovering new books. Sadly I don't find much time to visit now so it was a nice surprise to see that Ealing Library is offering free downloads of e-books and audio books. What a great idea. I have signed up today and I hope that this service will be a great help to people who find it difficult to visit the library.

David Archer ● 5778d0 Comments ● 5778d

Please urge Angie Bray to speak up for Human Rights

Please note that the Coalition government is proposing a change to the law (Police Reform Bill) that will make it harder issue an arrest warrant in the UK for suspected war criminals and those who committed crimes against humanity. However, there is currently an Early Day Motion (EDM 108) in the house opposing this change to the law. This EDM is supported by 121 MPs which includes 32 Libdem MPs, 82 Labour MPs and the Green Party MP. I am happy to see that our two Ealing Labour MPs Stephen Pound and Virendra Sharma have signed this important EDM. However I note that there is only 1 Tory MP supporting the EDM which is Anne Main but unfortunately not our Ealing Central and Acton MP Angie Bray. According to Amnesty international there is simply no need to change the law and it seems the Coalition is motivated by political rather than legal concerns in pursuing this change.  It is important that the UK continues to stand up for human rights, but this change is giving the wrong signal about our position. We should not make it more difficult to arrest people like the Pinochets or the Milosovics of this world, wherever the crimes take place be they in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Gaza or elsewhere in the Middle East. Can I urge people to write to Angie Bray MP asking her if she could speak out against clause 151 in the Police Reform Bill during the debates and to table amendments to this bill. For further information please see the Amnesty International website at www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=676 ORhttp://conradbryan.blogspot.com/2010/12/angie-bray-mp-should-speak-up-for.html

Conrad Bryan ● 5791d6 Comments ● 5778d

Swine flu in Ealing?

Just wondering if anyone has heard of any confirmed Swine Flu cases in or around Ealing?

Samantha Tubbritt ● 5787d7 Comments ● 5779d

Vouchers Found

My wife was shopping in Ealing this morning and found some vouchers that someone has obviously dropped. Let me know if this could be you.

James Brown ● 5779d0 Comments ● 5779d